McCarren Park Could Swallow Union Avenue

A city proposal calls for demapping a block-long stretch of Union Avenue that currently divides McCarren Park, the Brooklyn Paperreports. The almost 34,000 square feet of street—between Driggs Avenue and Bayard Street—would be closed to automobile traffic, becoming open space. It’s hoped the rezoning, first proposed more than a decade ago, could take place as early as this summer.

“It could be used to expand adjacent park uses, add park furniture, increase landscaped areas, and provide additional open space for the residents of the rapidly developing neighborhood,” Stephanie Thayer, the executive director of the Open Space Alliance, said at a recent community board meeting. She’s looking for community input for how to redesign the space.

The current proposal calls for new catch basins to reduce the burden on the sewers—a particular problem on this block—as well as electrical outlets, for the farmer’s market vendors who set up here, and new shrubs. “It’s silly to have McCarren Park separated by a street that’s non-essential,” one community board member told the Paper. “How many people drive south on Driggs and turn left onto Union? Not many.”